Park View honors those who gave all

The rain could not dampen the patriotic spirit of the Park View Middle School community and their honored guests last Friday morning as they held their annual Memorial Day ceremony, a solemn, respectful event honoring those who have served their country and lost their lives doing so, and honoring their family members who have lost the life they once knew.

The students entered the auditorium in red, white and blue color order, assembling inside just as they would have outdoors, filling the room to capacity. Honored guests assembled on stage. They included Carlos Lopez, representing the City of Cranston; Jeannine Nota-Masse, Superintendent of Cranston Public Schools; Norma Cole, Assistant Superintendent of Cranston Public Schools; Major Gary L. Helton Jr., Camp Fogarty Training Center RI Army National Guard; Lizbeth Larkin, President of the Cranston Teachers Alliance; and Frank Flynn, President of the RIFTHP, among others

The Cranston East JROTC Honor Guard presented the colors as student emcees Mo Holtzman and Jillian Cabral led the Pledge of Allegiance. The Park View Band played the “Star Spangled Banner” as student Aislinn Baxter provided vocal accompaniment. “Rights because of the rights lost”

Principal Michael Crudale gave his opening remarks, noting that the annual PVMS Memorial Day ceremony came about when the school’s flag and flagpole were first dedicated to the men and women who had served their country. He then shared the history behind the Memorial Day holiday.

“Memorial Day is one of the most important weekends celebrated in our country. It’s a time to remember and honor all who have given their lives for their country,” he said. “The first recorded death in the United States military was April 19, 1775. Since that time we have lost close to 2.9 million servicemen and women in combat. Memorial Day is the time to remember and honor those who have sacrificed to serve our great nation. Some of Cranston’s very own have given the ultimate sacrifice. Cranston West graduate PS3 Ronald A. Gill Jr., from the United States Coast Guard, killed March 25, 2007, and Cranston East graduate, US Marine, Holly Charette, killed June 23, 2005.”

Crudale reminded the students that Memorial Day weekend is more than a day out of school, cookouts and days at the beach, but rather about paying tribute to the fallen heroes.

“The one thing I ask you this weekend is to take a moment, think of our service men and women who are away from their families, those men and women who have been wounded, and those who have died,” he said. “Think of all the freedoms and rights that you have and know that you have these rights and freedoms because of these men and women. You have these rights because of the rights lost in places like Normandy, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. This Memorial Day weekend, remember those lives, honor those lives and always be thankful that these soldiers sacrificed their lives so that you may live yours in freedom. I hope you enjoy this Memorial Day weekend, and God Bless the men and women of the United States military.”

Carlos Lopez brought greetings on behalf of the City of Cranston. He reminded the students to think of the freedoms that they are able to enjoy, thanks to the soldiers who have fought for those freedoms.

“We are here to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to assure that our way of life continues for all of us,” he said. “As you sit here today, watching the ceremony, think of those that we are honoring. They were once like you. They probably sat in a similar auditorium, if not this auditorium, and they decided to serve our country honorably. One day you will have that chance to serve our country and one day you will be sitting or standing where I am, honoring your classmates that gave the ultimate sacrifice. That is what this weekend is about. Take a moment this weekend to think about those people who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

The superintendent’s story

Superintendent Nota-Masse thanked the Park View community for starting the Memorial Day ceremony tradition, noting that it is ceremonies and events such as this one that make her proud to be the Superintendent in Cranston.

She shared with the students the story of a recent September trip she took to Washington D.C. for a work-related event, and the brief time she had to herself, which she used to visit some of the area’s war memorials, including the Vietnam War Memorial. She described the huge books that are located all around the site, which lists all of the thousands of names that are etched into the memorial, and how she used one of the books to look up the name of a family member she’d long heard of, but whom she had never had the opportunity to meet, as he’d died in service to his country before she was born.

She was emotional, as were many of the on-stage guests, students and faculty listening, as she retold the story she had heard over the years, passed on from generation to generation.

“Robert was my mother’s first cousin, a Marine corporal who was killed in South Vietnam. He was a mere 19 years old when he gave his life for his country,” she said. “I remember hearing stories about Robert, as he died before I was born. He was tall, handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed young man, really just a boy when he left for the Marines. His tour of duty began on August 27, 1969. My mother would retell this story when talking about him, and I heard it often throughout my childhood.”

She went on to share the story she had heard over and over again, as the audience sat in silence, many wiping tears from their eyes as she spoke, pausing frequently to gather her emotions and maintain her composure.

“It was July, 1970,” she said. “Robert’s mother, my aunt Erica, was washing her windows at her house on Rankin Avenue in Providence, excited because Robert was scheduled to come home within a few weeks and she wanted everything perfect. When the military car pulled up to her house, two stately Marines got out and approached her. She knew what that meant, and crumpled. Robert was her only child. My mother would often say she was never the same again.”

Nota-Masse reflected on her aunt’s experiences from her current perspective as a mother to one son as well.

“As a mother now, I completely understand the magnitude and sorrow of that story,” she said. “As I used my finger to find his name in the large book with thousands of other names, listing the panel where his name was etched, I thought about my aunt and uncle and the sacrifice they gave for this country, the country that my aunt came to after marrying an American soldier and coming here from Germany after World War II. I walked; I found the panel on the memorial, panel 08W, line 33. I found his name and took some pictures of it for my family. Then I took a step back and just looked at the thousands of names of the young men and women who gave their lives in that brutal war. Again I thought about my aunt and uncle, who essentially gave their lives as well.

“I couldn’t shake my thoughts of what each of those parents and families went through on the days that they learned that their soldiers had died, an agony retold to family members for years, just as it was done in my family. Now the benefit of age and wisdom has allowed me to understand why Robert’s story was retold so often. My family, some who had never met the tall, blond boy, would never forget him and his sacrifice. So as we remember the fallen soldiers from too many wars, too many conflicts and too many hostile encounters, please also remember their families as well, this weekend.”

“Magnificent land of the free”

School committee representative Michael Traficante, a veteran himself, expressed his frustration with those who are disrespectful of the flag, the country and the freedoms which have been fought for by the men and women who have selflessly given their lives.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s pathetic that many Americans have lost the connection with their proud history and true purpose of celebrating Memorial Day. It is disturbing that many Americans are sometimes prone to make light of ceremonies, of patriotism, of symbols like our flag,” he said. “As a veteran who proudly served in Korea, I can speak for all veterans when I say that this lackadaisical and cavalier attitude is disappointing and frustrating. That beautiful flag of ours does not fly because the wind moves it, our beautiful flag flies because of the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it, and protecting everything you and I cherish and enjoy in this free society of ours and all of the rights and privileges we perhaps take for granted each and every day. This is why Memorial Day is a day of gratitude, a day of observance, a day of patriotism, a day we pay homage to those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that you and I can appreciate this magnificent land of the free.”

The PVMS band played “America the Beautiful” before Major Gary L. Helton Jr. was next introduced.

Helton noted that the ceremony continued to honor the traditions of Memorial Day established many years ago, honoring the sacrifices made by those who had sacrificed their lives, and by their families who had sacrificed theirs as well.

“On this special day, in honor of the fallen, we are reminded of the continuous fight for our nation’s freedoms performed from our American servicemen and women,” he said, noting that although the stories that have been told over the years of lives lost may be painful, the stories still need to be told.

“In Rhode Island each year, citizens and officials from around the state gather to honor our fallen heroes on the State House lawn honoring our state’s men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice during our war on terror,” he said. “This ceremony is a constant reminder of the perks we enjoy from that freedom.”

He noted that since last year’s ceremony, two new Rhode Island names were etched in stone this past fall.

“We will continue to honor their memories and the memories of 27 other Rhode Island warriors, the memories of Rhode Island service members laid to rest from our state as they fought for our freedom,” he said.

He expressed a sense of optimism when considering those who truly appreciate the meaning of Memorial Day.

“I believe we are transitioning back to a time when today means much more than a backyard barbeque, and a day at the beach. On Memorial Day our flags fly at half-staff from dawn until noon. The graves of our armed force members are marked by flags and flowers in remembrance of these lives,” he said. “It is a time to reflect on the service of the men and women in uniform. Nothing can adequately prepare a family for the news that a loved one has died while serving our country, just as nothing can erase the pain caused by that loss but we strive to ease this burden in any way possible.”

He encouraged those present to remember those who have lost a loved one in the line of duty, and to remember those lives lost.

The ceremony continued with a performance by Kassidy Iacobucci, Katie Culhane, Mina Grady, Aislinn Baxter and Daisy Sanchez of “We Thank You,” whose original lyrics were written in 2013 by PVMS alumni Serena Bobola and Katrina Marek.

Honored guests gathered outside in front of the school’s flagpole for the laying of the wreath and the echoed playing of “Taps” by Nabil Chaudhry and Jonathan Barbarisi.

When the guests returned inside, Lopez recalled Helton to the podium and presented him with a City of Cranston Challenge coin, a highest honor, in thanks for his service to his country.

The Park View band concluded the ceremony with their performance of “Westwind Overture,” and closing remarks were given by Holtzman and Cabral before the recession.